Team Chicago Academy-Bahia traveled to Phoenix, AZ for the prestigious SC Del Sol Presidents’ Day Tournament. In the U14 Premier Division Bahia finished in 3rd place with a 2-0-2 record just narrowly missing out on a spot in the final on goals-scored.

In Friday’s opening game Bahia defeated AZ Arsenal 1-0 on Allie Anderson’s great strike from 25 yards after a Natalie Massa free-kick.

On Saturday Bahia struggled to a 0-0 tie against Pride FC from Colorado in the 80+ degree heat. However, Bahia had several 100% chances which went begging, and this came back to haunt the team in the final group standings.

On Sunday Bahia needed to get a better result against Rio Rapids Riot from New Mexico than Pride FC got against AZ Arsenal to win the group and secure a spot in the Final. Unfortunately, Bahia missed out by the slimmest of margins as the 0-0 tie was 1 goal worse than Pride FC’s 1-1 tie with AZ Arsenal.

In the 3rd place game on Monday Bahia had its strongest performance and easily beat New Mexico Rush 3-0. Allie Anderson had another two bombs from distance as Bahia went up 2-0 at the half. Emma Crosswait assisted on both goals while Natalie Massa and Sarah Davies both assisted one goal.

In the second half Emma Crosswait finished off the Rush with a great goal from Natalie Massa and Sophia Majher’s link-up play. Abbie Brennan and Reagan Sanders combined for the 4 shutouts in Phoenix, and the defense of Erin McCarthy, Megan Olah, Sarah Davies, Maddie Monaco, Zaira Solis, and Jeff Pochyly stood tall in front of them. A special shoutout to Mia Marconi for her hustle to get back to make a crucial goal-line header clearance which preserved the clean sheet in the 3rd place game.

Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro standouts Kerry Abello and Sarah Avery will be representing Illinois ODP at the National ODP Championships this weekend at the Reach 11 complex in Phoenix, AZ. They will be members of the IL 1999 team which won the Region II championships in Rockford last July.

The girls will take on New York West in the semi-final on Friday at 1pm. With a win they will face the winner of Florida-Cal South in the championship game at 8:30am on Sunday.

Good luck girls!

Team Chicago Academy-Brasilia goalkeeper Madison Lockard has accepted a great scholarship offer to continue her soccer career at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. Madison, who plays her prep soccer at Oswego H.S., will be part of Ball State Head Coach Craig Roberts’ 2017 recruiting class.

The Cardinals finished the 2014 season with an 11-7-2 record and a semi-final berth in the Mid-American Conference tournament.

Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro tri-captain Kerry Abello has accepted a great scholarship offer to continue her soccer career at Penn State University. Kerry, who plays her prep soccer at Benet Academy, will be part of Penn State Head Coach Erica Walsh’s 2017 recruiting class.

The Nittany Lions is a perennial Big Ten powerhouse, and Kerry will be joining a long list of youth national team players. Currently, the Nittany Lions have four players on the U20 National Team roster.

Team Chicago Academy-Brasilia standout Jade Eriksen-Russo has accepted a great scholarship to continue her soccer career at DePaul University. Jade, who plays her prep soccer at Metea Valley H.S., will be part of DePaul Head Coach Erin Chastain’s 2017 recruiting class.

The Blue Demons had a breakout season last Fall as they were crowned both Big East regular season champions and Big East Tournament champions. DePaul completed an undefeated regular season with a 16-0-4 record before falling to Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament.